I've posted in the classifieds, but if anyone has a line on the tent from a dealer that is looking to get rid of one, or any other accessories, drop me a line. Even though I bought a new Basecamp, since the tent was not a factory option, they want $1565 for the tent (!). $1000 for the tent is already too much, which is what the factory option price is.

I've tried Kelty, and they only sell it to Airstream. I've tried Airstream, and the only sell to dealers. So, if anyone can help out...

Also, I've looked at a couple of the 'Sportz' SUV tents online. They are meant to hook up to the back of a Explorer and such... anyone know exactly how big a hole I need to get around the ass of a Basecamp? (mine is still in transit).

Also, I've looked at a couple of the 'Sportz' SUV tents online. They are meant to hook up to the back of a Explorer and such... anyone know exactly how big a hole I need to get around the ass of a Basecamp? (mine is still in transit).

I had one of those that I modified and made fit to the side of a teardrop trailer that I built, and I think it would fit just fine. You would probably have to fabricate something to make the "sock" stay attached to the Basecamp, but other than that, would work fine.

Hi Friday, it’s me again. We have a Sportz tent for the VW Eurovan Camper that we use to tow our Basecamp. The tent is roomy and well made, and FAR less expensive than the Kelty tent. It also has a rain fly, which the Kelty does not. We have all the other Kelty accessories, but passed on the Kelty tent. Although we have not yet had an opportunity to try the Sportz tent on the Basecamp, we’ve used it lots on the VW Eurovan and think the tent will fit just fine on the Basecamp.

We had such a hard time locating the tent, that we ended up buying it with the trailer (except it was an added 'part'). It ended up being quite expensive... $1600 Cdn... so that really stung. But, we figured there might not be a chance to get one in the future. We are just getting nice enough weather here to set it up and check it out.

I'd be interested in any tips or feedback though. I was disappointed to find it has no fly, and am looking at a Kelty Noah tarp to use instead.

In hindsight, I suppose I should have given the Sportz tent a try, as their rep in Canada said they'd send one for the cost of shipping to try.

But, as the Basecamp is all about 'cool', there is no doubt the Kelty tent is the coolest...

How do you find the rest of the Kelty gear? Worth the investment? What exactly do you get? I'm curious about the 'gear pole storage' especially.

We should talk more! We just sent our tent to the Kelty Warrenty Center in Colorado for repairs. The tent poles were too long due to the tent material shrinking! We are waiting for the tent to arrive back in California.

We are also looking to obtain a rain fly. I asked Kelty if they would make one since they had the tent. Kelty indicated that they do not manufacture special orders! Kelty did give me the name of an group that might create one in Seatle, Washington called Rainy Pass Repair @

We just set ours up yesterday to try it, and it was really, really tight... i thought we might rip it, but we got all the poles in. I was hoping it would stretch in the sun, but when we took it down at the end of the day it was still super-tight.

Is there a lifetime warranty on it, like their other gear? For the money, they should have an advance-exchange program for it...

After looking at the material closer, it looks like it is a good water-proof material... the rear-facing window is a poor setup with no deflector and the panel on the inside... we'll see how that works.

Do any of the AS dealer-related folks on here care to order me any more of the Kelty gear? PM me and we can discuss...

Friday,
Kelty reported to me that they made about 200 Air Stream Base Camp tents. As for the Warrenty, they have been very responsive (takes a long time) to making the necessary repairs to our tent. They did shorten the poles by about 1 inch. We ripped the pole strap attempting to put up the tent. We are still waiting to get the tent back from Kelty to see how it has been improved. As for the water proof aspect of the tent, I do not think it is a four season tent! I did mention that we are working on a homemade rain fly. We will let you know how it goes!

As for the Kelty Gear, give them a call. I do believe that they sent all materials to Air Stream in Ohio. You can call Air Stream Parts or try the Internet.

Ours came with the kelty tent, under bed luggage, kitchen cabinet storage and the gear pole storage. I wouldn't bother with the under bed luggage - it is made to fit under the beds, but you can just use similar sized duffels. I have found the kitchen cabinet storage and the gear pole storage useful.

Oh, and we had the same problem with the tent being super-tight on the poles...we just dealt with it and it hasn't ripped yet.

Ours came with the kelty tent, under bed luggage, kitchen cabinet storage and the gear pole storage. I wouldn't bother with the under bed luggage - it is made to fit under the beds, but you can just use similar sized duffels. I have found the kitchen cabinet storage and the gear pole storage useful.

Oh, and we had the same problem with the tent being super-tight on the poles...we just dealt with it and it hasn't ripped yet.

Any chance you could take a couple of pictures of the gear pole storage and cabinet gear? I have to order it from the 'states (I am in Canada) and it is very expensive from Airstream... any dealers on here that can help me out?